Briton Kartal wins as women return to Queen’s after 52 years

Britain’s Sonay Kartal secured the biggest win of her career as women’s tennis returned to Queen’s Club for the first time since 1973.

The 23-year-old secured a superb 6-1 3-6 6-3 win over world number 16 Daria Kasatkina of Australia to start her grass-court season on a high.

It is the first time a women’s tournament has been held at the iconic venue since 1973, when Olga Morozova lifted the trophy.

Queen’s has been a mainstay on the men’s calendar and a WTA 500 event has been added this year in an attempt to raise the profile of the women’s game and increase the visibility of the sport.

Jodie Burrage will attempt to set up a meeting with doubles partner Kartal in the last 16 when she faces Amanda Anisimova later on Monday.

Meanwhile, British pair Katie Boulter and Emma Raducanu overcame China’s Jiang Zinyu and Wu 6-4 6-2 Fang-hsien on their maiden outing as a doubles partnership on a packed Court One.

Kartal has enjoyed a remarkable rise in the past 12 months, moving from outside the top 250 to a career-high of 50 in the world.

Cheered on by a packed partisan crowd, Kartal dominated the opening set against Kasatkina before the Australian bounced back in the second set to level proceedings.

But it was an impressive response from the Briton, who beamed after slamming down a forehand winner to seal victory.

“The nerves hit me a little but to be able to play on this court with you guys cheering me on it was a super special moment,” said Kartal.

“The last few months I’ve played bigger tournaments so I’m handling the bigger occasions better.